1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of surgical methods and devices for establishing drains in intra-abdominal viscera.
2. Description of the Related Art
The insertion of a drain tube into the stomach, gall bladder and other intra-abdominal viscera carries an inherent risk of spillage of gastric juices, bile or infected fluids into the peritoneal cavity if the viscus becomes invaginated during tract dilation, or the wire guide becomes coiled within the peritoneal cavity and the drain cannot be reinserted. Therefore, one feature of this invention is to provide a visceral anchor which atraumatically mobilizes and internally tamponades the wall of the stomach, bowel, gall bladder and/or superficial abscesses against the abdominal or chest wall before inserting a larger retention loop or other drain.
Several and various devices and methods have been proposed for the purpose of facilitating the insertion of drains in intra-abdominal viscera. A stomach catheter placement system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,961,632, issued to Moossun on Jun. 8, 1976. The Moossun system provides mobilization of the stomach wall using a magnetic nasogastric intubation device. Once the stomach wall is brought in proximity with the abdominal wall, a Foley type catheter is inserted through the abdominal wall into the stomach. The stomach wall is retained by an inflatable annulus on the catheter and an external locking disc. A method and apparatus for urinary drainage is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,598,124, issued to Anderson on Aug. 10, 1971. Anderson uses a Foley type catheter for retaining a drain in the bladder.
Several retractable mechanical devices for establishing, retaining, and removing percutaneous transport tubes are known in the related art. Examples include the devices disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,393,873, issued to Nawash on Jul. 19, 1983; U.S. Pat. No. 3,039,468, issued to Price on Jun. 19, 1962; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,835,863, issued to Goldberg on Sep. 17, 1974. In Nawash, inadvertent removal of a transparent tube placed in the stomach is retarded by a resilient tip that assumes an outwardly bulged configuration upon the dissolving of a retention binding. Price discloses a trocar having retractable fingers. The fingers engage the stomach wall and a slidable clamp engages outer hide or skin in order to draw the stomach wall and the skin together around the cannula. The Goldberg device is a T-shaped drainage tube which is surgically implanted into a duct. Because of the flexibility of the cross tube, the arms of the cross tube fold to a substantially parallel position when the tube is withdrawn through the opening in the duct.
The use of guide wire in surgical methods of inserting catheters into vascular systems is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,534,363, issued to Gold on Apr. 26, 1984. The Gold patent discloses an improved coating for angiographic guide wire and a method of manufacturing the guide wire.
As relates particularly to the present invention, there has not been provided heretofore a simple device and percutaneous method for atraumatically mobilizing and internally tamponading the wall of an intra-abdominal viscus against the abdominal or chest wall.